"There's No Place Like Home, Part 1" is the twelfth episode of Season 4 of Lost and the first part of its multi-part, 3-hour season finale. It is the eighty-fourth produced hour of the series as a whole and originally aired May 15, 2008. The face-off begins between the survivors and the mercenary team from the freighter. In the future, the Oceanic Six return to their families.

On the Island

Tracking the helicopter and leaving for the freighter

The survivors are busy discussing what to do following the discovery of the satellite phone dropped from the helicopter. Jack hands the satellite phone to Daniel. Daniel enters a code that activates "monitor only" mode, allowing them to listen to a conversation on the helicopter. They hear Keamy speaking to Frank Lapidus. Keamy orders Frank to land the helicopter. Frank informs them that they are still "5 klicks out," but Keamy demands that they land. Keamy tells his men, "Soon as we hit the ground, we deploy to the Orchid."

Jack is determined to follow the helicopter because he thinks it is their ticket to rescue. ♪ Against the wishes of Juliet, who wants Jack to rest after his appendectomy, Jack asks Kate if she wants to track the helicopter. Jack and Kate run into the jungle after the signal of the phone.

In the jungle, Kate notices Jack's wound is bleeding, but he insists that it is a normal part of the recovery phase. Kate states that she knows when other people are lying because they look away from her, but that Jack does exactly the opposite. Suddenly, a noise is heard in the jungle and both of them draw their weapons. Miles comes out of the bush, followed by Sawyer carrying Aaron. Kate and Sawyer exchange uneasy stares before Kate asks where Claire is. Sawyer replies that they lost her in the jungle, and even after a day's search, they could not find her. He informs them that the Barracks were attacked by the people from the freighter.

Jack wishes to continue into the jungle and tells Kate to take care of the baby and head back to the beach with Miles. ♪ Hesitantly, Sawyer catches up to Jack to help him. The two follow the signal on the satellite phone until they reach the helicopter where they find Frank is hand-cuffed to the aircraft. Sawyer is uneasy about approaching Frank, but Jack assures him that he is trustworthy. ♪ The two proceed to find a way to un-cuff Frank who promises to fly them off the Island as soon as they do. He lets them know that with the mercenaries on the Island, it is the last place they want to be and that the freighter is the safest place. He says the men are at the Orchid waiting to capture Ben, and do terrible things to whoever is with him. Sawyer realizes that Hurley is with Ben, to Jack's frustration, and they decide they cannot leave yet. The group continues into the jungle on a venture towards the Orchid.

Meanwhile, Sayid arrives at the beach and offers to ferry people, six at a time, back to the freighter. ♪♪ Kate comes out of the jungle with Aaron and tells Sayid what has happened with the helicopter and the sat-phone. Sayid wants to run off after Jack and Sawyer to warn them about the freighter mercenaries. Daniel offers to ferry people to the freighter in his place. Juliet says that Sun is pregnant, so she should leave first. Kate wants to go with Sayid to help track Jack and Sawyer, so she gives Aaron to Sun. Sayid and Kate head off into the jungle and Daniel takes Sun, Jin, Aaron and three other survivors in the Zodiac. ♪

In the jungle, Kate and Sayid are tracking Jack and Sawyer's footprints. Kate notices a different fresh set of tracks that have doubled back on them, and Sayid calls for whoever is following them to reveal themselves. Richard Alpert emerges from the jungle, and Kate and Sayid draw their guns and tell Richard to stand down. He asks them to calm down and continues moving towards them until a large group of Others come out of the bush and aim rifles at the pair. Richard disarms the two and the Others begin escorting them to an undefined location.

Traveling to the Orchid

Ben leads Locke and Hurley through the jungle. ♪ He explains that if, as Christian told Locke, they need to move the Island, then there's only one place to do that: the Orchid station. Hurley asks Ben why he did not move the Island before the mercenaries arrived. Ben replied, "Because doing it is both dangerous and unpredictable. It's a measure of last resort." Along the way, Ben stops at a rock formation and pulls out a hidden case. Inside are binoculars, a signaling mirror, and a DHARMA Initiative cracker tin with the Swanlogo. Locke gives the tin to Hurley, who opens it up and starts eating the crackers that are inside. After telling Hurley that the crackers are 15 years old, Ben uses the mirror to reflect light in order to signal something to someone on a nearby cliff. The person on the cliff responds with more reflected light. Locke takes the binoculars and asks Ben whom he communicated with and what he said with the signal. Ben replies, "Who do you think?" to the first question and answers, "None of your business, John," to the second. ♪

Later, the three reach the Orchid, only to find that Keamy's team have made it there first. ♪ Ben gives Locke very specific instructions on what to do once inside the station (which involves finding a secret elevator to the real station), hands him his telescopic baton, then walks out into the open where Keamy's team can see him. Keamy comes out and Ben surrenders to him. ♪ Keamy holds a gun to Ben's head for a second, before hitting him with it instead. ♪

On the freighter

Daniel arrives on the raft with Jin, Sun, Aaron and three other survivors. ♪♪ Desmond helps them aboard and Daniel heads back to get more people to ferry. Michael arrives and informs Desmond that the engines are fixed. Desmond leaves.

In the bridge, Desmond has Hendricks, who acts as helmsman, try the engine, which works. ♪ However, they can't move closer to the Island because of some RF interference which prevents them from being able to see the reef and that the RF interference is coming from the boat. Desmond says he'll find the source and shut it off.

Jin and Sun are talking to Michael who explains his situation. Sun is surprised to see him working for Ben and he replies that he's not working for Ben, he's trying to atone for what he did. Desmond bursts out of the ship calling for help. Michael, Jin and Sun (carrying Aaron) follow him, and he leads them to a room full of explosives. Jin tells Sun to leave and she heads above deck. ♪♪

Flash-forwards

The Oceanic Six return (Kate and Aaron)

Two pilots are at the helm of a transport plane. The pilot chastises the co-pilot for clinging to his lucky charm, a rabbit's foot. The co-pilot says he has to be extra vigilant considering the cargo they are carrying. Karen Decker, an Oceanic Airlines representative, is strapped into the jump seat immediately behind the pilots. The pilots tell Decker they're approaching the runway.

The Oceanic Six are aboard an US Coast Guard transport aircraft enroute to a military facility just west of Honolulu. Decker tells them that their families are waiting for them and that they don't have to speak to the press. Jack insists that they're all right with speaking to the press. The woman leaves and Jack tells the rest of the Six to stick to the story and if they don't have an answer to a question to just stay quiet and the press will assume that they're in shock. Sun replies that they are in shock.

The Six exit the back of the transport. Carmen and David Reyes, Mr. and Mrs. Paik, and Margo Shephard are all waiting for them. The three families are overjoyed to see each other. Sayid and Kate have no one greeting them. Hugo jumps back after hugging his mom hello and introduces Sayid, who gets the full family hug treatment. As the remainder of the Six meet up with their families, Kate just holds on tight to baby Aaron and looks around, alone. ♪

Oceanic Six press conference (Sayid)

Later, Oceanic Airlines holds a press conference with the Oceanic Six. Karen Decker presents a fabricated story of how the Oceanic Six survived, based on the already-found staged wreckage of Flight 815 at the bottom of the Sunda Trench in the Indian Ocean. According to the story, the survivors were carried by the ocean's current after the crash to the uninhabited island of Membata, where they survived for 108 days. On the 103rd day, a typhoon washed up the remnants of an Indonesian fishing boat, including a survival raft, on which they traveled to the Indonesian island of Sumba to find rescue.

The Six then take questions from the press. Jack is asked what it was like when the plane hit the water and he responds by saying that it all happened very fast. He claims he and a few others made it to one of the doors and got out of the plane, and stayed afloat using life jackets and seat cushions until the tide brought them ashore. By that point, he claims there were only eight of them left.

One reporter suggests that, for having been trapped on an Island for the amount of time that they were, they look to be in remarkable health. Hurley asks if that question is directed at him. This questioning segment was cut from the extended rebroadcast on 5/29.

Another reporter asks Hurley what it will be like to get his money back. He says that he doesn't want it back. Another reporter asks Sun a question in Korean. One of the news reporters calls out for a translation, and Sun translates the questions: whether Jin was one of the passengers who made it out of the plane. She responds that no, he died in the crash. Kate is asked what it was like giving birth to Aaron on the Island, to which she replies that it was scary. At the time of the press conference, Aaron should be almost five weeks old; the reporter follows up by challenging her version of the timeline, noting that she would have been six months pregnant when she was apprehended in Australia. Decker hastily cuts off this line of questioning and explains that Kate's "legal issue is off the table." When asked about the possibility that other survivors might yet be found, Sayid replies, "No. Absolutely not."

This information was revealed in the enhanced episode aired on 5/29: Jack named the other three survivors as Boone Carlyle, who died of massive internal injuries very soon after arrival on the Island; "a woman named Libby," who also died within the first week; and Charlie Pace, who drowned just a few weeks before they got off the Island. Sayid also confirmed that he will not be returning to Iraq, saying "there is nothing for me in Iraq."

After the press conference, Karen tells Sayid that there's a woman outside who claims to know him: Noor Abed Jazeem. He heads outside, where he sees Nadia. They embrace. ♪♪

Paik Industries (Sun)

Some time later, Sun goes to her father's office. When she arrives, two men are there explaining about an upsetting incident involving five different banks; he sends them away. Sun asks if anything is wrong and Mr. Paik replies that it's company business, and she wouldn't understand. She then accuses him of having hated Jin, and tells her father that she considers him to be one of the two people responsible for his death. She reveals that Oceanic Airlines has given her a significant settlement, which she has used to purchase a controlling interest in Paik Industries. She then tells her father that once she has her baby, she intends to discuss her plans for the company's new direction.

Hurley's surprise party (Hurley)

Later, Hurley is shown walking through his house, which appears empty. However, he is startled when he sees a coconut on the ground and begins to hear whispers. He picks up a small statue of Jesus Christ to use as a weapon and slowly moves towards the voices. As he opens the door, the whispers are revealed to be a large group of friends and family surprising him with a birthday party. His mother scolds him for contemplating using the statue as a weapon. At the party, Sayid, Nadia, Kate, and Aaron are present. Kate mentions that Jack is running late. Hurley's father takes him aside to show him his birthday present, which is the Camaro they had worked on previously. ♪ He mentions that once he thought Hurley was dead, he began to finish working on the car as a tribute to his son. He gives Hurley the keys, which are on a rabbit-foot keychain. Hurley and his father sit inside to take it for a drive, but Hurley immediately notices the Numbers in the cars' odometer and trip counter.

He exits the car and is seen running down the street, away from the Camaro, in fear.

Christian's eulogy (Jack)

Ten months after the crash, Jack delivers a eulogy at his father's memorial service. He expresses remorse over not having his body present, saying he loved his father. ♪ After the ceremony, Carole Littleton approaches him. She explains her story, revealing to Jack that Claire, whom she believes he never met, was his half-sister and was also on the plane. Jack is obviously shaken at the news. Carole then approaches Kate, complimenting Aaron, unaware that he is her grandson.

The mirror Ben uses is called a heliograph, or signaling mirror. They were commonly used by military forces in the early half of the 20th century. They are still included in survival kits for emergency signaling to search and rescue aircraft. They typically have directions printed on the non-reflective side.

At Hurley's surprise birthday party, Sayid is seen sporting a wedding band, implying that he and Nadia have been married by this point.

What can be seen of Ben's mirror message, interpreted in Morse code, translates to "seise" [1]. The reply was "sii" [2] (although there may have been another letter after the "s" while Locke was raising his binoculars).

Tripometers, where the lower four numbers (2342) appeared on Hurley's birthday car, were not standard on the 1970-1972 Camaro, so it seems Hurley's father replaced the original speedometer unit with an aftermarket model when he refurbished the car.

The logo for the Orchid in Daniel's journal confirms that the Orchid is the logo on Ben's parka in the Sahara.

On the enhanced version, Jack revealed that Boone, Libby and Charlie are the other 3 (in the cover up story) that died on the Island. These three characters are the only characters that have appeared in prominent visions of other characters after their demise: (Boone appearing to Locke, Libby appearing to Michael and Charlie appearing to Hurley).

Boone, Libby and Charlie were each a major death of the first, second and third seasons, respectively.

Boone, Libby and Charlie were each the final main character to die in those respective seasons.

Additionally, Jack's claims as to how Boone and Charlie died -- internal injuries and drowning -- is actually how they died, although under much different circumstances.

Although the enhanced version contained some extra footage as described above, it lacked the segment of the press conference where Hurley makes a comical remark when the female reporter questions their apparent health.

Despite not having any close-up shots at the press conference, both Mr. Paik and Mrs. Paik were present and can be seen for a split second sitting next to Margo Shephard.

Bloopers and continuity errors

During the press conference when all the reporters are talking over each other, a man's voice can be heard saying, "Just a clarification, sir?" followed by another few indecipherable words. A few questions later, the reporters become excited again and the same sound byte is clearly used a second time.

In the shot of the aircraft's ramp being pulled out, Jack, Hurley and Sun's family members can be seen standing at the end of the ramp surrounded by guards. In the next shot, they are suddenly several yards further back, surrounded by no one.

As Hurley brings Sayid into his family hug, he has his right arm around his shoulder to begin with, then as it flicks to the next shot, the other arm is around Sayid.

In the scene where Sayid reunites with Nadia, the police car next to the warehouse door is on the right, in the next shot it is on the left.

Just after the Lost title screen, Jack and Kate are walking through the jungle. As Jack says "the chopper must have landed" a large red circle appears on the tree to the left; most likely a camera reflection or flare.

As Ben is walking into the Orchid Station area to give himself up, a gun being cocked can be heard several seconds before the actual cocking is happening.

When Daniel takes the first group onto the Zodiac, a man with shoulder-length hair is seen pushing the right side of the Zodiac. In the next shot, the same man is seen pushing the left side.

When Sayid is returning to the Island on the Zodiac, there is a Sea Turtle on the shore just as he's about to land. In the next shot, the Turtle is gone.

Hurley's birthday party scene contained the following "Easter eggs": 4 palm trees on the lanai, 8 helium balloons tied by the pool, 15 presents on the lanai table, 16 party hats worn by background individuals, 23 & 42 were the Numbers on the jerseys worn on the 2 boys crossing over the pool right after the DJ was shown. (The Numbers)

One of the pilots in the transport plane rubs a rabbit's foot. (Animals)

Cultural references

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The episode's title, "There's no place like home," is a quote from L. Frank Baum's fantasy The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Near the end of the 1939 film adaptation, the song's melody plays in the underscore as Dorothy repeats the phrase that transports her back home to Kansas, mirroring the theme of this episode. (Movies and TV) (Literary works)

Gulliver's Travels: Sawyer calls Frank "Yahoo." This comes from the book Gulliver's Travels, published by Jonathan Swift in 1726. The Yahoos are vile and savage creatures, filthy and with unpleasant habits. They're primitive creatures that represent the distasteful materialism and ignorant elitism Swift encountered in Britain. Hence the term "Yahoo" has become synonymous with "cretin," "dinosaur," and/or "Neanderthal." (Literary works)

The finale is structured so it begins with its result--The Oceanic 6 together. It then deconstructs this by placing those 6 in all different locations on the Island.(Foreshadowing) (Juxtaposition)

The title of the episode foreshadows the return of the Oceanic 6, while juxtaposing its positive meaning to their bittersweet emotions in an ironic fashion. (Foreshadowing) (Irony)

One of the USCG pilots is rubbing a white rabbit's foot, foreshadowing Hurley's encounter later in the episode with the same charm. (Foreshadowing)

Before Hurley is aware of the surprise party, he hears whispers reminiscent of those on the Island that often foreshadow unfortunate situations. (Juxtaposition)

Claire's mother comments that Jack would have sat only a few feet away from Claire, oblivious to the fact that they were siblings. She then admires Aaron, oblivious to the fact that he is her grandson. (Irony)

Six of the Losties arrive on the freighter looking for safety, only to find it is rigged with explosives. (Irony)(Plot twist)

Claire's name is referenced at least twice in the episode during distinct moments, but she doesn't appear in any scene. (Unseen character)

The episode ends with Ben being captured and knocked unconcious by Keamy. The Oceanic Six are spread out over the Island, leading the viewer to wonder how those six manage to join together and leave everyone else behind. (Cliffhanger)